How to Escape Quicksand

You probably won’t get stuck in quicksand. But if you do, you can use physics to get yourself out.

 

The Radium Girls

SciShow explores the harrowing tale of the so-called Radium Girls, factory workers who were the first who for years worked with one of the world’s most radioactive substances -- and suffered the consequences.

 

Why Isn't "Zero G" the Same as "Zero Gravity"?

This Quick Question explains the difference between gravity and g-force, and how you can experience zero-g in space even when it’s not zero gravity!

 

How Do We Measure the Distance of Stars?

The Bad Astronomer Phil Plait teaches Hank how to measure the distance to the stars.

 

How Do Rainbows Form?

SciShow explains how three important ingredients -- sunlight, water, and you -- interact to create the illusion of a rainbow. The colorful details are inside!

 

Can We Get to Alpha Centauri

You like space exploration, and we like space exploration. So why aren't we investigating our closest to galactic neighbor, the triple star system Alpha Centauri? Is it time to give interstellar travel a shot? How would we do it? Hank explains our options, and lays out the challenges. Short version: You're gonna have to be patient!

 

The Science of Hyperloop

Michael Aranda explains the nuts and bolts of Hyperloop, the new magnet-driven, solar-powered transit system proposed by Spacex genius Elon Musk. Learn how Musk answered three vexing questions to create the transportation of the future -- or maybe the transportation of Futurama.

 

The World's First Human-Made Nuclear Reactor

Today on SciShow, Hank brings us a little science history, telling us the tale of the world's first human-made nuclear reactor, which was built by a team of scientists and students led by Enrico Fermi in a converted squash court under a football field in Chicago.

 

Coriolis Effect: IDTIMWYTIM

Does your toilet water drain differently than in the other hemisphere? Is it because of the Coriolis effect? Hank has some things to clarify about these questions, and more in this edition of I Don't Think It Means What You Think It Means.

 

The Oldest Star in the Universe

Hank tells the story of the mysterious star known as "Methuseleh," and why scientists think that it is the oldest known star in the universe.

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The Manhattan Project

Some of the greatest advances in science have come from humanity's more destructive impulses. This is not the fault of science - when we discover powerful truths about the universe it's up to us to decide how to use them because they can either be boons or banes to the world. There may be no better example of this than the work done by the Manhattan Project - the years long, multinational effort to develop an atomic bomb during World War II. The project created unfathomably destructive weapons and led to a 50 year Cold War with the USSR, but is also the source of a lot of information about the atom we didn't have before, which has led to advances in many beneficial fields, like energy production and medicine. Science, like history, is always complicated.

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The Search for Antimatter

If you don't have any idea what antimatter is, you don't have to feel bad - the brightest minds in the world have only recently begun to understand what it is and how it works. Hank gives us the run down on what we know about antimatter, and what we're still trying to figure out.

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Is There Gravity in Space?

In a word, "yes" - space is packed with gravity. Hank explains how Isaac Newton described how gravity works, and why even though it seems that things are floating in space, they're still effected by gravity. Every object in the universe is constantly attracting every other object in the universe.

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Marie Curie: Great Minds

Hank tells us the story of his favorite genius lady scientist and radioactive superhero, Marie Curie.

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The Most Sophisticated Mirror in the Universe

Hank summarizes the five reasons why infrared telescopes were supposed to be impossible to build, and then describes how a team of scientists and engineers overcame those obstacles to build the James Webb Space Telescope.

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3 Physics Experiments that Changed the World

Cavendish experiment (gravity), Young double-slit experiment (interference of light) and Rutherford gold foil experiment (atomic nucleus).

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Dark Matter

Physicists estimate that dark matter accounts for about twenty three percent of the known universe - the only problem is that no one really knows what it is...

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Dark Energy

The universe is huge and getting bigger all the time, and we have we have dark energy - the most mysterious force in the universe - to blame/thank for it. Thought to make up more than 70% of the energy in the whole universe, Hank describes how dark energy was theorized to exist, and how scientists are trying to explain it.

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From Kepler to Webb: The History of the Telescope

Hank regales us with the history of the telescope, and then introduces us to some folks from the team who are working on the newest telescope in the chronology - the James Webb Space Telescope, an infrared telescope due to launch in 2018. Thanks to the team at Northrop Grumman for allowing us the privilege of touring their facility, and to the scientists at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for their help with this video.

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Nikola Tesla: Great Minds

Hank brings us the tale of the bizarre and eccentric genius with the crazy eyes who spent his life increasing awesome wherever he went, and contributed in some way to pretty much every cool invention you can think of. Nikola Tesla spoke eight languages and, at the time of his death, held over 700 patents and was being investigated by the US government for claiming to have invented a 60 million volt death ray. Tesla was an undisputed genius, and SciShow gold.

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